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Not by human power…. (devo reflection)

Daniel 8:23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise.

To me, this chapter is very reminiscent of Revelations. There is a lot that I don’t understand. When that happens, I cling to the things I know with certainty. One of those can be found in Isaiah 55:8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” God’s got a plan, and it is far beyond anything I could imagine.

Daniel 8:24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people.

The second thing I know with certainty is how God is calling me to act, even in uncertainty and confusion. That can be found in Matthew 22:37-39: Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Even when I am uncertain, acting in love—love for God and love for people—is the right move.

Daniel 8:25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.

Lord, Thank You for Your certainty, even in my confusion. Thank You that I can trust that You have a perfect plan which is beyond anything I could imagine, and thank You for the understanding that even when I am confused, I know that loving You and loving others is always a good plan. Draw me closer. Amen.

Daniel 8:26 “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

Have a blessed day.

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Even when I don’t understand…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 50:6 “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place.”
There is a lot going on in this chapter, but the theme of redemption is strong here. Romans 8:28 was strongly on my mind as I read: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Jeremiah 50:7 “Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture, the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’”
I’m not going to lie, though, it took A LOT of destruction to reach this prophecy for redemption. I struggle with the destruction. And not to justify it, but just to try to reconcile it in my own mind, I do recognize that God took a fully rebellious people and brought them to a space where no guilt, no sin could any longer be found in them. That is miraculous.
Jeremiah 50:20 “In those days, at that time,” declares the Lord, “search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.”
Lord, I struggle with destruction, but I recognize that Your thoughts are not my thoughts and Your ways are far beyond anything I can imagine (Isaiah 55:8). I look at the world through human eyes and often miss eternal implications. Help me to trust You, even when I don’t understand. Draw me closer. Amen.
Jeremiah 50:31 “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished.”
Have a blessed day.
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Hear our petition…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 42:1-2 Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah a son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.”
God knows our hearts. He knows when we are sincere or desperate or duplicitous. He knows when we claim Him (MY God) and when we don’t (YOUR God). He knows when we are sincerely seeking wisdom and discernment and when we are just seeking confirmation of our own will.
Jeremiah 42:3 “Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”
When we come to Him for wisdom, guidance, and discernment, we must approach with sincerity and without preconceived notions of what His answer will be. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are far beyond anything we can imagine (Isaiah 55:8).
Jeremiah 42:4 “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you.”
Lord, When I ask for Your wisdom and discernment, give me an obedient heart. Help me to understand Your will, even when it is different than my own. Help me never to forget that wherever You lead me, You keep me, You are with me. Give me strength, grace, mercy, love, so that I can fulfill Your will for me. Amen.
Jeremiah 42:5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us.
Have a blessed day.
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Making a way…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 40:1 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon.
When I did today’s reading, I had just finished reading scripture that included Isaiah 43:19–“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness….” So as I read today’s chapter, the verse from Isaiah was heavy on my mind.
Jeremiah 40:2 When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place.”
This part of chapter 40 seems the epitome of Isaiah 43:19. Jerusalem and Judah have fallen to the Babylonians. Jeremiah has been captured (even after receiving clemency in the last chapter), and yet…. The commander of the guard frees him, reflects on God’s actions (“The Lord your God decreed this disaster….”), and gives Jeremiah choices. God is making a way in his wilderness.
Jeremiah 40:3 “And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.”
Lord, Forgive me when I look at situations from my purely human perspective. Help me never to forget, never to doubt, that You can and will and do make a way where there is no way. You have already begun. Help me to trust even when I cannot yet perceive it. Amen.
Jeremiah 40:4 “But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.”
Have a blessed day.
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This is the promise…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 24:6a My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land….
This section brings Romans 8:28 to mind: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him….” Here He is saying that the exiles, those who have been led out in captivity, are still under His care, still in His sight. He is still making a way in their wilderness, even now (Isaiah 43:19).
Jeremiah 24:6b …I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 
I love the phrasing, “I will give them a heart to know Me” (v7). Isn’t that the center of our faith? A heart that is eager to know God? Returning to God as our center always? This is the promise He gives to the captives.
Jeremiah 24:7a I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord….
Lord, We are captive to so many things at times, and usually because of our own bad choices. And yet, You still love us fiercely and are eager for a relationship with us. “Thank You” is so inadequate to express my level of gratitude at Your desire to have a relationship with me. Give me a heart to know You. Allow me to return to You with all my heart. Amen.
Jeremiah 24:7b …They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
Have a blessed day.
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To seek and listen…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 7:12 “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.”
When reading verse 13, Isaiah 65:24 came to mind in sharp contrast: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” God wants relationship with His people. He wants us to talk with Him. He wants to bless us. But we must seek and establish relationship, we must trust and obey if we want to hear His voice, if we want to see His blessings.
Jeremiah 7:13 “While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer.”
As I was typing this, the parable of the Prodigal Son came to mind. The Prodigal, when he returned home, finally understood all the bounty and blessing he had been surrounded with the whole time. He had been blind to it before, but now that he actively sought relationship and forgiveness, he saw it clearly. The brother, vision clouded by anger and bitterness, was still blind to the abundance around him.
Jeremiah 7:14 “Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors.”
Lord, I am guilty of being blind to Your presence, Your blessings. I am guilty of being deaf to Your voice. I am better now about seeking and listening, seeing and hearing, but I am still not where I want to be. Help me to sit quietly at Your feet, to seek and listen, to draw closer to You with every breath. Amen.
Jeremiah 7:15 “I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’”
Have a blessed day.
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Trusting His big picture…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 66:1 This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?”
In the classroom, I am charged with understanding both the big picture—where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how those two intersect—and where we are currently, along with how that fits in with the bigger picture. I used to try to share all of that with students, but they were often so focused on the now that they missed how it fit in as part of the whole. If I can get students to trust that I have a master plan and to do the little, daily steps, usually, eventually, they realize that we’ve been working diligently on the big picture all along.
Isaiah 66:2 “Has not my hand made all these things and so they came into being?” declares the Lord “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”
Ironically, when I am the student and God is the teacher, I find that I am often just as short-sighted and impatient as my own students when it comes to trusting His big picture and daily plan. It takes a humble and contrite spirit to trust and continue even when the big picture isn’t clear, even when the work of now doesn’t seem relevant. Jesus, Help me.
Isaiah 66:3 …They have chosen their own ways, and they delight in their abominations;
Lord, Thank You for showing me that my lack of trust in Your daily plan is my pride and that my lack of trust implies that I think You don’t know what You are doing. Help me to be humble and contrite in spirit, help me to seek You daily, help me to trust You—the master teacher—and to trust Your master plan, even when I don’t understand. Draw me closer. Amen.
Isaiah 66:4 …so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring on them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.”
Have a blessed day.
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Before they call…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 65:1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’”
The words long suffering and steadfast come to mind as descriptions for God in this chapter. His compassion, even for “those who did not ask, those who did not seek,” is clearly visible. He is a God of love. He has a heart for all.
Isaiah 65:2 “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—“
The beginning of this passage sets up the question: If God is so loving, so steadfast, to the obstinate, to those who pursue their own imaginations, what’s He like for those who actively seek Him? Verse 24 provides the answer: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”
Isaiah 65:3 “…a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick….”
Lord, Often in my fleshly, human failings, I am the obstinate one, the one who is not seeking, who is pursuing my own imagination instead of pursuing You. Forgive me. Thank You that even in my obstinance, You reveal Yourself to me whenever I seek You. Thank You that even in my failings, I can cling to the promise in verse 24. Help me to be more like You as I try to glorify Your name and comfort Your people. Amen.
Isaiah 65:24 “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”
Have a blessed day.
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A human BEING…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
I have struggled, more this semester than most, with my worth as a human BEING instead of a human DOING. As someone who has been a productive citizen for as long as I can remember, I struggle with my value and worth when I am too worn out to DO. And yet God encourages our being, He tells us to “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Our culture puts a premium on doing. The first question that we often ask strangers is: What do you DO for a living? It just occurred to me to wonder if that has any connection to our pride: What do you do and how can you help me move higher? But God is concerned primarily with our BEING, He acts on behalf of those who WAIT for Him (verse 4), those who aren’t so busy doing that they miss His still, small voice.
Isaiah 64:8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Lord, BEING instead of DOING is something I still struggle with. Thank You for the continued reminder that I need to lay it all at Your feet. Thank You that You love me for who I am and who I am to You and not for anything I do. Help all my doings be aimed to bring You glory and to comfort Your people. Help me to get better at being still in Your presence. Draw me closer. Amen.
Isaiah 64:9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever; Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.
Have a blessed day.
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A catalyst for digging deeper…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 63:1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.”
This week the scripture for my church’s daily devotionals is in Luke 15: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, and The Parable of the Lost Son. All three parables echo this idea in Isaiah 63 of a God who is mighty to save and a people who rebel and grieve His Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 63:8 He said, “Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me”; and so he became their Savior.
And I have found myself of late struggling with how I deal with what I see as rebellious, grievous behavior in others. My anger at the inability of others to act with basic Christian compassion is rebellious and grievous in its own way. It’s not righteous anger from God. It’s not productive. It’s not compassionate. That makes it part of the problem.
Isaiah 63:9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Lord, I feel You calling me to task with this scripture. I can’t combat attitude with attitude. It doesn’t glorify You nor does it help any of Your people. Help me to use my anger as a catalyst for digging deeper so we can get to the root of the issue. Help us all to comfort Your people in compassion and love.  Help our end-goal to be to glorify You always. Draw us closer. Amen.
Isaiah 63:10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit….
Have a blessed day.